2017 Audi R8 V10 Plus: First Drive

What is it?: Two-seat V-10 powered all-wheel-drive supercar

Price: Unofficial estimate $165,000-$185,000

Competitors: Lamborghini Huracan, Ferrari 488 GTB, McLaren 650S

Alternatives: Bentley Continental GT Speed, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, a nice boat.

Pros: Faster, sharper and yet more emotional than the previous generation

Cons: A minimum of styling changes; no more V-8 base model.

Since 2008, the Audi R8 has been the supercar for smart people.

The R8 was far less costly than the Italian playboys, including the Audi’s corporate cousin, the Lamborghini Gallardo. The all-wheel-drive Audi has been civilized, easy to drive fast and everyday-comfortable, a goal now espoused by everyone from McLaren to Ferrari. It’s also relatively reliable and service-friendly; a short hop to any Audi dealer versus a pilgrimage to a wallet-sucking, espresso-pushing foreign shop three counties over.

One thing holding the R8 back, besides that commonplace Audi badge, was exactly that Rational Supercar status. A sense that the R8 was a bit like the Tin Man in the supercar Oz – all brains and not enough heart – to attract wealthy buyers who’d been waiting their whole lives to splurge on something wild and profoundly impractical.

Laying waste to the Portuguese countryside in the second-generation R8 V10 Plus, it’s clear that the Audi hasn’t abandoned its original Braniac mission. That lab-born personality made the Audi ideal for the inventive arms racer Tony Stark in the “Iron Man” franchise, one of the smartest pairings ever of movie man and machine.

But emboldened with a 610-horsepower V-10, hybrid aluminum and carbon-fiber space frame and gorgeous Virtual Cockpit display – all shared with its new cousin, the Lamborghini Huracan – the R8 finally displays both the fire and finesse of a true exotic. That includes the V10 Plus model’s 3.2-second rip to 100 kph (or 62 mph), a 9.9-second charge to 200 kph (124 mph) and a 205-mph top speed. When it pops into American showrooms next spring, as the fastest and most powerful Audi in history, this 2017 R8 should make fresh claims on the emotions of finicky supercar buyers.

Our own emotions ran high on the dash from Algarve, Portugal – the cliff-hung region along the nation’s southern Atlantic coast – to the Autodromo do Algarve. The 610-horse V-10 is pure mid-engine addiction, serving up amphetamine rushes of power every time we mashed the gas to its crackling 8,700-rpm redline. The V-10’s money-shredding howl is one you’ll rarely hear outside the racetrack. Standard carbon-ceramic brakes delivered the he-man power to slow the Audi before the next mountain hairpin, and the next.

Strewn with blind crests and downhill plummets, the Autodromo is enough of a gut-check during the day – and we’re about to drive it at night as well, the better to test Audi’s new laser-powered spotlights that supplement and double the range of its LED high beams.

Say goodbye to the 420-horse V-8 version, the one that put the R8 on the map, along with the optional metal-gated manual shifter that paid clackety-clack homage to Ferraris of old. Say hello to a pricier pair of V-10 models exclusively with Audi’s dual-clutch, 7-speed S Tronic automated transmission. That pair includes the new “starter” R8 5.2 V-10 with 540 horsepower, a 3.5-second scoot to 100 kph (62 mph) and 199-mph peak.

Previous R8’s were fast but almost too benign, beset by terminal understeer common to AWD machines. The new one is noticeably sharper, faster-reacting and more neutral near its handling limits, able to rotate around its mid-engine axis when you really push it. For owners, finding those handling limits on public roads will be a challenge: The Audi’s reworked Quattro AWD, mechanical locking differential and sticky 19- or 20-inch Pirelli P Zero tires afford nearly unbreakable grip. A new electromechanical clutch boosts dynamics, now able to transmit nearly 100 percent of torque either fore-or-aft in milliseconds.

Blending carbon fiber into the usual aluminum, Audi’s space frame is fifteen percent lighter than before, and 40 percent stiffer. Overall, the R8 trims about 110 pounds for a slender curb weight of 3,205 pounds. America’s V-10 Plus models will offer a stiffer steel spring suspension in place of magnetic dampers on the standard V-10 version.

Like most every rival, the Audi switches from hydraulic to electric steering, with no ill effects. Optional dynamic steering can speed or slow the steering ratio to ease low-speed maneuvers while boosting high-speed stability – and helpfully dials in a fixed 13:1 ratio in Performance modes for do-it-yourself types. If there’s one performance glitch, it’s the otherwise-stellar S Tronic transmission, which occasionally hiccups under part-throttle acceleration as it chooses the right gear.

We admit being initially dismayed by the R8’s “new” styling, which appears to be a holding pattern worthy of LaGuardia airport. But despite Audi’s nip-and-tuck approach, this R8 still seduces onlookers with that signature cab-forward, LeMans-racer shape that collectors will surely appreciate on Pebble Beach lawns in decades to come.

The real tell on the 2017 R8 are the side blades behind the doors, now bisected by contrasting sheetmetal that visually amplifies the car’s length. In fact, this R8 is roughly an inch shorter than before, a half-inch lower and wider. Wheel arches are broadened, with a bit more 3D-jut to the honeycomb single-frame grille. Headlamps with 37 LED’s in each unit now flow directly into enlarged air inlets. The nighttime run at the Autodromo had us in thrall to both the spooky conditions – you don’t often get a chance to charge over blind hillocks at 110 mph in the dark – and the laser spotlights, which lit up nearly 600 meters worth of track ahead. (Americans will be denied the long-range laser spotlight, which wowed us on a nighttime track drive in Portimao, thanks to archaic federal regulations.)

A bigger surprise awaits inside, where lavishly upgraded materials and craftsmanship – including beautifully fitted Nappa leather – heightens the Audi’s minimalist, race-cockpit approach. The effect is like a black-clad German superhero strapped with the barest essentials for battle. A plush, diamond-patterned Alcantara headliner provides a welcome mat for your fingers. 

A geometric multi-function steering wheel offers floating-style “satellite” buttons for engine start and Audi Drive Select functions. The V10 Plus model adds standard buttons for Dry/Wet/Snow within a Performance mode, and a Sport Exhaust switch to boost the V-10’s knee-weakening soundtrack.

There’s not even a central display screen, only a trio of climate switches and a console MMI knob to manage the coup-de-grace: The Virtual Cockpit. Powered by a Tegra 30 chip from NVIDIA, the display lets drivers toggle between multiple views, including high-resolution Google Maps splayed across its full 12.3-inch width. In Performance mode, a large tachometer dominates the center, especially helpful to flaunt that sizzling redline.

Shell-backed racing buckets are available for hardcore owners, but we preferred the long-range comfort and wider adjustability of the standard buckets with diamond-patterned leather. Seats are lowered by 12 mm to get drivers closer to the ground-floor g-force action.

If the R8’s mathematical precision takes the guesswork out of any road, we’re still left guessing over a few matters prior to the Audi’s U.S. arrival in spring. Extrapolating from prices in Euros, we’d peg a 540-horsepower R8 V10 at roughly $160,000 to start, and closer to $185,000 for the 610-horse V10 Plus.
Yes, that leaves a giant showroom hole where the V-8 model used to play. Even with that departing V-8 delivering the bulk of sales, Audi moved barely 6,000 R8s in America over eight years, and about 27,000 around the world. Audi played coy, but reports indicate that a new base model is being developed for people who’d rather spend closer to $135,000, in the ballpark with cars like the Mercedes AMG GT, Porsche 911 S and Aston Martin Vantage. Audi’s stellar 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, which already cranks out 520 horses in the S8 sedan, would seem a natural; but Audi sources have even hinted about a twin-turbo V6.

As the supercar arms race continues, it’s pretty clear that this R8 would perform just fine with 450 to 500 horsepower. But while these re-armed V-10 Audis should roughly double the price of a 650-horse, front-engine Corvette Z06, they’ll still cost a good $100,000 less than a comparable mid-engine Ferrari 488, Lamborghini Huracan or McLaren 650S. Still a relatively sweet deal in the supercar candy store.

Disclosure: For this article, the writer’s transportation, meals and lodging costs were paid for by one or more subjects of the article. Yahoo does not promise to publish any stories or provide coverage to any individual or entity that paid for some or all of the costs of any of our writers to attend an event.